Challenge Entry 22: Katawa Star
by Zokusho
Summary: The Lucky Star girls in this pastiche are, well, different. You'll see. It's a bit funny, a bit sad, a bit of this and that. I managed to squeeze out another chapter, but I'm not sure if any more are coming up.
1. Scarred Girls

**Katawa Star: Chapter 1: Scarred Girls**

Written for the 22nd Challenge of Mostly Lucky Star Forum.

The Lucky Star girls in this pastiche are, well, different. You'll see. It's a bit funny, a bit sad, a bit of this and that. Highly likely to be an one-shot.

* * *

"It's simple. Just press the button on the top of the stopwatch to start it," P.E. teacher explained.

Tsukasa just nodded and smiled at her, confident that she could handle something this simple. After all, she had even gotten in into sis's high school – Ryōō High School for Handicapped – and this school didn't take mentally retarded students. Tsukasa's family and all the others always told her that she was talented. Not with math and stuff, she had "social and emotional intellect," as many of those with Williams syndrome.

"On your marks – get set – go!" teacher yelled, and the row of students on the track started running.

Looking portentous, Tsukasa pressed the button exactly as teach shouted "Go!" Just to be sure, she pressed it twice.

And the stopwatch didn't run. Tsukasa's eyes widened. It didn't work! Or, it did work, sort of. It had measured half of a second of time. Then it had stopped for some reason.

Normally, Tsukasa would have admired Konata's running, now, she fidgeted and tried to think how to rectify the situation. Maybe if she quickly pressed the button again, the watch would work? So she did, but that only made the hand of the watch to spring back to zero, from that half second she had been able to measure so far.

Cold sweat appeared on Tsukasa's forehead as the runners approached. It was clear who was going to win – Konata, of course, meters ahead of the others. As Konata crossed the finish line, Tsukasa pressed the stopwatch button again.

"How was my time?" Konata asked excitedly. Running was about the only physical activity she actually liked, because it earned her days off of school. And prices, even.

"Uh, it was …" Tsukasa muttered. "Four seconds! No, six … seven … nine … ten …" she continued, because the watch kept ticking and the hand moved.

Konata chuckled. "You messed up with the stopwatch?"

"Yes … I couldn't use it after all … I'm sorry, Kona-chan!" Tsukasa exclaimed. She was on the verge of tears.

Konata patted Tsukasa's back. "Never mind. It's not important."

Tsukasa sniffed. "O-okay, Kona-chan. Your running was amazing, as always. I could never, ever run that fast, no matter what I did!"

"Well, don't get your legs chopped off, it's not worth that," Konata muttered, and looked down. These prostheses made especially for running made her legs look alien. Two black, arcing pieces of black carbon-fibre. She hated wearing them, because she wanted her legs look cute. And normal. Not that they would ever be. But her regular ones at least looked more normal.

"Sis! You were third, I think!" Tsukasa yelled, rapidly forgetting her mistake. "Great job!"

"I'm not that good with short distance," Kagami muttered. She had grabbed a towel and covered her scarred half with it. She didn't like running because her hair swayed back and exposed her disgusting side. Years ago, she had rescued her sister in a temple fire. A burning wooden beam had fallen on her. She had pushed her sister out of the way but got trapped underneath, and the right half of her body was badly burned. Somehow the scars didn't heal well and to this day they looked horrible. All black and red and knobbly.

"Should we head to the changing rooms?" Miyuki asked.

Kagami turned to look at her and smiled. Miyuki, another of her classmates. Their class rep, in fact. The very smart, tall, beautiful girl with flowing pink hair. She was the only person who never stared at her scars. "Sure."

Miyuki extended her collapsible white cane and started walking. Kagami was always amazed how Miyuki seemed to know the right direction. And she almost never collided with anything. Something you wouldn't expect from a blind person.

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Kagami returned to classroom later than the others. She had special permission from Kuroi-sensei to be late after sports, because she couldn't take a shower until she was alone. As she walked in, she froze and her jaw dropped. Miyuki was standing very close to Konata, with Konata's face in between her hands. And Tsukasa was just sitting in her desk and smiling at them.

"Wh-what is this?" Kagami gasped.

"Oh, hi, Kagamin! Miyuki just wanted to see my face," Konata explained.

"_See_ … ?"

"Yeah. Since Miyuki is blind –" Kagami flinched when Konata said that aloud, just like that "– so she needs to feel our faces to know what we look like. She already looked at Tsukasa. And you're next, Kagamin!"

Kagami's eyes widened, she turned pale, and stumbled backwards, out of the door. Unfortunately, their homeroom teacher was just coming in on her wheelchair and Kagami ended up sitting on her lap. "Hey! What are you doing, Hiiragi!" Kuroi-sensei groaned.

While Kagami was trying to explain her actions, Miyuki said, "It's okay! I don't need to touch Kagami if she doesn't want to. It's perfectly fine if you just describe her to me. I already know she has long and beautiful lilac hair in twin-tails, hadn't she?" Miyuki explained.

"Her eyes are also lilac. Like the summer sky. And she's tall and slender, though she always worries about her weight no matter how much I tell her that there's no reason to. And Kagami is smart, she works hard and gets good grades … and while she acts all cool and distant, she's in fact gentle and … uh …" Konata stopped talking as she realized Kagami had returned and was standing behind her, now blushing brightly. Konata's cheeks turned red as well, which was unusual.

"You like sis, don't you, Kona-chan?" Tsukasa asked innocently.

"Uh, well, who wouldn't!" Konata exclaimed, and laughed to cover her embarrassment.

"We all like Kagami-san," Miyuki confirmed.

"Could you please stop? This is embarrassing," Kagami muttered. "You don't have to praise me. I'm not that smart. I'm not nice. I'm not likable. And I'm _certainly_ not beautiful. I'm a monster. A freak, that's what I am!"

"But Kagamin –"

Kagami interrupted, "Forget it! Those are the facts, that how it is, and there's nothing you or I can do about it. So, let's just eat now. I'm starving."

They all sat down at the two desks they had pushed together and took out their lunch boxes. Except Konata, who had a Choko-koronet and a bottle of milk instead. "I was wondering … from which end do you start eating a Choko-koronet?"

"Oh, that! I can't ever decide!" Tsukasa exclaimed. "So I have to start in the middle."

"And she makes a terrible mess," Kagami muttered. "Last time she was given a Choko-koronet, she, her clothes, and half the kitchen were covered in chocolate smears."

Tsukasa giggled nervously, and looked apologetically at her sister.

"I too make a mess, sometimes. Since, well, I can't see what I'm eating. I drop food … and once I accidentally fed half of a soft serve to our neighbor's dog. I didn't even notice it until I tried to take a bite," Miyuki explained. At the moment, she was eating very neatly, though, never dropping even a single grain of rice off of her chopsticks. She was better at it than Kagami.

"Never mind, Tsukasa, who wouldn't mess up now and then," Konata joined in to the confessions. "Even I make mistakes! I know it's hard to believe, but I do. Last week my legs got entangled and I sat on a full bag of potato chips. It exploded everywhere around my room! And dad walked in right at that moment!"

For some reason, they all turned to stare at Kagami. Though Miyuki didn't really stare, of course, just turned her head towards her.

"What?" Kagami muttered. "Oh. Yes, of course I mess up too … I know I started it, but could we leave this subject?"

"Sis dribbles!" Tsukasa chirped.

"Yeah, okay. I do. The scars make the right side of my mouth a bit stiff and … i-if I try to drink too fast …" Kagami's voice quieted down and she cleared her throat and blinked her eyes.

Suddenly the atmosphere turned all gloomy.

Kagami flinched as Konata gently patted her back. "Cheer up, Kagami. We all know how you feel."

"You all can joke about it …" Kagami muttered.

Konata leaned closer, and whispered, "I envy you, Kagami. You still have your legs … your eyes … and your wits –"

At this point, Tsukasa groaned, "Hey!"

"I'd rather be one of you than to have these scars."

The three other girls looked at each other – metaphorically in case of Miyuki.

"Who knows," Konata finally sighed. "I think Miyuki's condition is worth the most bonus points."

Kagami started laughing and that lifted the tension. "And I have a charisma penalty?"

Tsukasa and Miyuki didn't seem to get any of this.

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The school was over and the four friends were outside, enjoying the spring sunshine.

"Hey guys, why don't we go to have ice cream or something?" Konata suggested. "To cheer Kagami up."

"Cheer me up?" Kagami muttered, eyeing Konata. "Ice cream does sound good, but …" Kagami ended her sentence in a deep sigh.

"Don't worry, Kagamin. You don't look fat at all."

Suddenly Kagami stopped walking and froze, her eyes opening wide. Surprised, the others looked at her, then ahead. A floppy-eared, black and brown puppy dog had just come around the corner, on a leash held by a young woman.

"Awwww!" Tsukasa gasped, and dashed forward.

The others hesitated, while Tsukasa promptly learned everything about the dog and its owner.

"You can pet her too! She's just three months old! Youngest from a litter of four!" Tsukasa explained.

"This cute dog reminds me – Yuki-chan, why don't you get a guide dog?" Konata asked. Kagami cringed and Tsukasa gasped at this straightforward reference to Miyuki's disability.

Miyuki didn't seem to mind the question, though. She just smiled, and answered, "For now, I get by just fine. I only have to go to school and back home by myself, and I know the route very well. I am considering getting a guide dog if I go to college."

"Let's get a dog, onee-chan!" Tsukasa moaned. "Please, onee-chan!"

"No, Tsukasa. We can't get a dog," Kagami said quietly.

"Why, onee-chan?" Tsukasa gasped.

"All dogs hate me. They bark at me."

Konata was already patting the dog. "Nonsense. Come here and pet this dog. It's very friendly."

Hesitantly, Kagami took a step forward. The dog immediately bared its teeth, laid its ears back flat and low on its head, and growled at her.

"See, I told you so!" Kagami groaned, and moved away from the dog, which calmed down somewhat, but kept a close eye on Kagami. She crossed the street and passed the dog by a respectable distance. The others said farewell to the dog and her owner and followed.

Soon, they reached the ice cream bar and sat into a booth. The waitress arrived and took their orders. Kagami stayed silent until all the others turned to look at her.

"Oh. Strawberry Sundae. Extra large," Kagami said quietly, staring at the floor.

When the waitress was gone, Konata wrapped her arms around Kagami and hugged her, pushing her face against her cheek. Instantly, Kagami's face turned bright red. "Aww, Kagamin …"

At least Konata wasn't getting close onto her scarred side. Still, she quickly pushed her away and groaned, "Don't jump on me like that. I'm fine. I am used to all of this."

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Golden Week was over, summer was drawing near, and Konata had invited herself into Hiiragi household for one entire weekend. She claimed it was for studying, but everyone knew that meant Konata and Tsukasa copying Kagami's homework and then having leisure time.

Konata rang the doorbell and Kagami's and Tsukasa's older sister, Matsuri, came to open the door. Both of the older Hiiragi sisters were "normal," that is, physically normal. Inori just couldn't stand any disabled people and she never came to greet Konata. And she couldn't have dinner with any disabled guests. She barely tolerated her younger sisters. Matsuri, on the other hand, was fascinated by all sorts of disabilities. So fascinated, that it felt a bit creepy.

"Konata!" Matsuri gasped, and stared at her legs when she took her shoes off. Of course, Konata was now wearing her realistic prostheses.

"Hello to you too, Matsuri-san," Konata said, but Matsuri wasn't listening. She only stared at her legs, and slowly licked her lips. "Eww," Konata muttered.

Absent-mindedly, Matsuri replied, "What? Oh, hello, legs! … I mean, delighted to see your legs. I mean, you! Nice to see you, Konata."

Konata shivered a bit, but decided to take advantage of the situation. "You know, Matsuri-san … after a long walk like this, I have to take my prostheses off and wipe my legs with disinfectant. And I think I can't reach every place. So, I was thinking I might let you help me –"

"Anything!" Matsuri gasped. "I'll do anything!"

Konata smiled slyly. This was almost too easy. "Oh, but it will cost you!"

Matsuri was almost drooling in her excitement, which made Konata hesitate a bit again. "How much? How much? I don't think I have more than 10000 yen –"

"No, not money. Listen carefully …"

Konata looked around, to make sure Kagami wasn't around. Then, she tip-toed and whispered into Matsuri's ear for a while.

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Kagami had heard the doorbell but Konata had not come into her room yet. She sighed, put her pencil down, and went downstairs.

She found Konata and Matsuri in the living room. To her disgust, Matsuri was kneeling in front of seated Konata and apparently fondling one of her legs. Or the stump, actually, since the prosthesis was off.

"What's going on in here?" Kagami asked, in a somewhat harsh tone.

"Oh, Kagamin … nothing! Matsuri just helped me with the disinfectant," Konata quickly explained, and put the prosthesis back.

Matsuri quickly stood up and said, "Yeah. Nothing was going on. Sheesh, you look like you just ate a raw lemon. Are you jealous of her or something?"

Matsuri's cheeks were blushing and she was breathing a little faster than normal. This made Kagami even more disgusted. She already knew of her sister's … attractions. _"How could Konata allow her to do that? … oh, maybe she didn't know?"_ she thought.

Konata giggled nervously and quickly straightened her skirt.

"_She knows. So why did she…?"_

Kagami turned around and walked away, shouting, "I'll be in my room. You'd better come there if you wanted to study. If you just want to goof off, just leave already!" as she went.

"Uh, she got angry …" Konata sighed.

"Aww, don't worry. I'll help my little cute Kona-chan," Matsuri muttered.

Konata shivered a bit. Maybe she shouldn't have done this…

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They had been studying for quite a while. Konata seemed a bit downhearted, didn't talk much, and wasn't feeling like reading manga or playing. So she actually studied for once. Kagami took a curious look at her now and then, but decided not to spoil this rare moment.

"Are you still angry, Kagamin?" Konata finally asked.

"Not any more. You actually studied. That's … that's weird, actually. Are you feeling okay?"

Kagami wasn't looking at Konata, though. She glared at her twin sister, who had fallen asleep and was drooling onto her notebook.

"Now that the studying is over, I'm feeling better by the minute!" Konata exclaimed.

"The studying is not over! We've still got two years to go, Konata," Kagami groaned. Now that things had returned to normal, they both knew it was just the usual nagging routine, and Kagami tried not to smile. Konata had no such inhibitions. Grinning from ear to ear, she slammed the math book close. "Yeah, but for this weekend, it is!"

"For today. Tomorrow we must study more," Kagami corrected. "Miyuki's coming as well."

"Yeah, yeah – how about –"

Konata was interrupted as there was a knock on the door, and then Matsuri slid the door open without waiting for an answer. It was better than nothing, Kagami thought, because normally her big sister didn't even knock at all.

"Our guest should take a bath first!" Matsuri exclaimed. "There are towels in the bathroom … actually, why don't you two share the bath? I'll share it with Tsukasa later. If she wakes up."

"W-what –" Kagami gasped, but Matsuri didn't even bother listening to what she would have said, she just closed the door again and walked away.

"No! We can't!" Kagami yelled.

"What?" Konata asked, turning to stare at Kagami curiously. "Why can't we take a bath together? We're both girls, and best friends."

"I can't show my … you know! It's an awful sight!" Kagami moaned.

"Kagamin … I am a freak too. Have you forgotten these?" Konata said quietly. Kagami realized that at some point, Konata had moved onto the bed and removed her prostheses.

Konata pulled her skirt up, and lifted her legs into view. Both legs ended into round stumps had been amputated just below the knee. There were red and white scars all around the stumps. While the stumps weren't pretty, they looked just fine compared to Kagami's scarred side. Kagami realized this was the first time she had seen Konata's legs this close.

Kagami swallowed a tear, and muttered, "Those aren't ugly. They only make you, uh, more adorable. More cute. You are so small and cute … whilst my scars … they are horrifying. Absolutely repulsive."

"Show me!"

"No … I could never …"

Konata pushed herself off of the bed, crawled on her knees to Kagami, and grabbed the hem of her shirt. "Come on. I showed you mine. I promise I won't be repulsed."

Kagami was a bit unnerved due to the way Konata was moving, and their great height difference when she wasn't wearing her prostheses, so she knelt down onto the floor as well.

Sighing deeply, she started to unbutton her shirt.

"Sweep your hair off of the way. I want to see your entire face," Konata whispered.

Kagami's heart was pounding. What if Konata found her so repulsive that she would stop being her friend? That had happened more than once at elementary school … she let she shirt slide onto the floor, stood up, took a hair tie from her jewel case, and tied her hair into a ponytail. But she couldn't turn around and face Konata. At least, not right away.

"Come here and turn around," Konata commanded.

"I … can't. Only the doctors … nurses … and mom …" Kagami muttered, swallowing tears again.

"If we are going to share a bath, I will see everything anyway."

"Uh … right …" Kagami whispered, slowly turned around, and knelt down again.

Konata didn't make a sound, and her serious expression didn't change a bit when she saw everything. Indeed, Kagami's entire right side was covered by ugly, pitted scars. The right side of her face was the worst. Her right eye had been saved, barely, but everywhere else, from her temple down to the right side of her neck was a mass of discolored, distorted flesh, with sinew-like keloids crisscrossing on top.

As Konata came closer, Kagami closed her eyes. She didn't want to see Konata looking at her.

Suddenly Kagami felt Konata's arms around her, and something pressed her right cheek. She opened her eyes and saw Konata kissing her right cheek. Kagami screamed, pushed Konata away, and then her stomach turned around and she puked on herself and Konata. Vomit splattered all over herself, Konata's front side, and the floor.

"EWWW!" Konata yelled.

Kagami retched a couple more times, and gasped, "Sorry … but the thought of someone's lips … on this … it made me sick!"

Konata realized that puke was flowing down her shirt, and quickly pulled it off and let it drop onto the floor. She crawled away from the smelly puddle on the floor.

Then she couldn't help it. She just had to start laughing. Kagami turned her head and glared at her fiercely.

"So-sorry, Kagamin … but it's just too absurd … someone who throws up … when kissed …" Konata gasped in the middle of the bursts of laughter.

"It really turned my stomach! I don't mean the k-kiss, but the thought … I mean … the kiss in itself was not at all sickening!"

"Oo, Kagamin … so you want to be kissed some more?"

"No! … I mean, not now! Not today! I – what am I thinking! … anyway, I'm all dirty now …"

"Kiss my leg stumps as a revenge?" Konata chirped.

"Even that is _much_ less disgusting! … Than kissing … yech …" Kagami gagged once more. "Uh, I have to stop thinking about it!"

"Good thing we were just going to take a bath?" Konata said, partly as a question.

"Yeah, okay. I guess …" Kagami sighed.

Kagami fetched a rag and a bucket of water and wiped the floor first. Then, they left, leaving Tsukasa sleeping. She, of course, had not woken up at all.

* * *

So, the Challenge theme was **Disability**. I played a bit of Katawa Shoujo but stopped well before anything really happened, so that I wouldn't be influenced. That's why I'm not even calling this a crossover.

Konata asked Matsuri to arrange for her and Kagami to share the bath, of course. In case you didn't realize.

Guess this needs more chapters, but I'm not sure whether I am able to write. I do have a plot for this, but it kind of requires going through all their high school years first. And I already got so many AU stories which need chapters…

Ryōō High School for Handicapped:

**Konata Izumi: **Double leg amputee using prosthetic limbs, lazy but athletic, and a diehard otaku and gamer. Despite her being seemingly proud of her condition _–_ _"There is a huge demand for leg amputee girls!" – _ inside, she is embarrassed and very ashamed by her "ugly stumps", which she thinks as disgusting. She can easily relate to Kagami and the two are best friends.

**Kagami Hiiragi:** Twin-tailed, tall girl, half of her body horrifically scarred years ago in a fire at their family shrine, where she got stuck under a fallen, burning wooden beam while saving her sister. Kagami is bold, aggressive and a leader type, though most of it is just to compensate her insecurity and the shame she feels for her appearance. She never shows her body scars to anyone and covers the scarred side of her face with her hair; she even hates to look at the scars herself, and they disgust her. Likes games, plays an online game with Konata. Class rep of class 3-B (she's in the same class as Konata in this story).

**Tsukasa Hiiragi:** Twin sister of Kagami; she has Williams syndrome but it is mild enough so she can (barely) cope in this high school which doesn't accept mentally retarded students. She has exceptional social and emotional intelligence, and has great linguistic and musical skills.

**Miyuki Takara:** Beautiful, tall, busty, pink-haired, and highly intelligent girl. For a blind person, studying requires extensive use of computers and consequently she has become an expert with all things related to IT. She navigates uncannily well by sounds, almost as if she still had her eyesight.

**Nanako Kuroi:** A history teacher, and class 3-B's homeroom teacher. She's paraplegic and confined into a wheelchair.

These characters didn't appear in this chapter:

**Misao Kusakabe: **Serious ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and Tourette syndrome. Even medication doesn't slow her down very much. Ayano uses pain to control her.

**Ayano Minegishi:** Deaf, but can speak quite okay, reads lips well, and is good with sign language. Best friend and guardian of Misao, and the only one who can control her. The pair is in a different class of Konata and her friends.

**Yutaka Kobayakawa:** A year ago, her brain was damaged during routine surgery and she's in a coma. It is unknown whether she will ever wake up.

**Minami Iwasaki:** I don't yet know her disability. Does voluntary work at the hospital where Yutaka is, and is in love with her.

That's not all, as you know, but I haven't even thought of any of the others yet.


	2. The Sleepover

**Katawa Star: Chapter 2: The Sleepover**

Originally written for the 22nd Challenge of Mostly Lucky Star Forum. The Lucky Star girls in this pastiche are, well, different. You'll see. It's a bit funny, a bit sad, a bit of this and that. Highly likely to be an one-shot.

* * *

After their bath, during which Konata had surprisingly enough behaved herself and not molested Kagami in any way, they got back to Kagami's room and gently slapped and shook Tsukasa awake and told her to take a bath. That was quite a bit of work, so Kagami sat onto her bed to take a breather. "At least Kusakabe wasn't here today…" she sighed. Misao and Ayano had been supposed to come, but they never showed up.

Konata took a serious face, knelt in front of Kagami, and grabbed her hands in between hers. That made Kagami flinch because Konata was again touching her scars, to which she wouldn't get used to in any time soon. "Now, Kagamin, we need to talk about the sleeping arrangements!"

Kagami yanked her hands away. "There's not much to talk about. You will sleep on the floor and I will sleep on my bed."

"Nuh-uh."

Kagami stood up and glared at Konata. "What are you nuh-uh'ing about? I didn't mean you need to sleep on the hard floor. Obviously you get a guest futon."

"No!"

"Oh, are your legs hurting or something?" Kagami gasped. "I'm sorry, of course you can sleep in my bed. I will sleep on the floor, then."

"No!"

Kagami smiled slyly. "Ah. I got it. You don't want to sleep at all. You want to stay up and study all night!"

Konata gasped and got quite flustered. "No, please, definitely not! I would be bored to death!"

"Gotcha!" Kagami exclaimed, and burst into laughter. "Did you really believe that? Even I am not _that_ studious."

"That wasn't funny!" Konata complained.

"Anyway, why are you denying everything I suggest?"

"I want to sleep with my Kagamin, of course. I don't want to sleep all alone on the floor."

Kagami's face was changing color rapidly. "Uh, my bed isn't wide enough. We'd have to c-cuddle up really close…"

Konata winked an eye. "Isn't that the idea?"

"Y-yeah, I mean, no! Why would – I can't – aren't you disgusted –"

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Later that night, Kagami sighed, "So we did end up sleeping together …"

"Yeah, isn't this nice?"

"It's not like I wanted to sleep with you!" Kagami groaned. Quickly she tried to think of something else to discuss about. And she did have something in her mind, fortunately – or unfortunately. Konata wasn't wearing her prostheses to the bed and it made her a bit uncomfortable. "Anyway, Konata, since you've seen all of my – well, there was something I wanted to ask you. If it is all right to ask something like that…"

"It's all right, if it's with you, Kagamin," Konata cooed.

"Right …" Kagami muttered, not quite sure whether Konata was even thinking of the same thing she was. "I just wanted to ask you how did you, uh, lose your legs."

"Oh, that!" Konata gasped. In the dim light, Kagami couldn't quite see her expression, but she thought she didn't look at all happy with the question.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to upset –"

"It's okay, Kagamin," Konata whispered. "I don't even remember it. Because I was just a baby. It was meningitis."

Kagami was silent for a moment. This was a very uncomfortable, delicate subject. She wasn't quite sure what to say, so she just asked directly. "Uh? Isn't that an infection in the brain …" she whispered. _"Is that why you are so weird?"_ she also thought, but she wasn't going to say that aloud now.

"Yeah, but sometimes it spreads into the limbs. My legs got gangrene and they had to be amputated."

"Oh, my god …" Kagami gasped. Desperately, she tried to stay calm and swallow her tears.

But Konata was still smiling. "It's nothing. You know, some other kids had _all_ of their limbs amputated –"

At this point, Kagami couldn't help it. She broke down and started to bawl like a baby. "Stop! I'm so sorry, I didn't think and I was having all this self-pity when I still have all of my limbs and I can walk and run like any other person and boo-hoo-hoo…"

"You are soaking me with all those tears…" Konata whispered, her voice faltering a bit. It almost broke her heart to see Kagami like this. On the other hand, it was an intimate moment, and she got to see a side of Kagami which not even her friends usually did. An emotional, vulnerable Kagami. She pulled Kagami closer, and gently stroke her head. "Please, Kagamin. You are out of character."

"W-what?"

"You know, being tsundere and stuff. Tsunderes don't cry like that. The deredere moments are supposed to be subtle."

Kagami swallowed some more tears, and cleared her throat. "Uh, Konata … d-did that meningitis make you –"

Kagami would never finish that sentence, _"…so weird?"_ because the bedroom door suddenly burst open, someone dashed in, leaped through the air, and landed on top of them. Both girls screamed in terror and flailed about, getting completely entangled in the covers, and with the assaulter.

"Misa-chan, stop!" someone else yelled at the door.

Kagami pushed with all her might, unfortunately she was accidentally pushing Konata instead of the attacker. Konata landed onto the floor with a thump. "Oww!"

Someone turned on the lights and Kagami found herself under Misao Kusakabe. "Woo-hoo, Hiiragi, what are you doing sleeping when it's not that late yet, and, and what's more, why are you sleeping with HER! Why is MY Hiiragi sleeping with the midget? Eww, the squirt is not wearing her legs! Did you do your homework yet, Hiiragi? I need to copy your homework! I must! If you don't let me copy, I'll tickle you to death!"

Misao clamped her legs around Kagami and started tickling her sides. Kagami was so completely surprised that for the moment she didn't even feel anything.

"I'm so sorry, guys," Ayano gasped. "Misao has been impossible today. We didn't get here until now! And I told her it was way too late and that we should just go home, but she didn't listen to me –"

"Coochee-coochee-coo!" Misao yelled and mercilessly clawed Kagami's sides. Now, she began to react with uncontrollable laughter. "S-s-stop!" she screamed. "Nooo!"

Konata clambered up and, assisted by Ayano, started pulling Misao off of Kagami. Misao was reluctant of letting go, she only wrapped her legs tighter around Kagami's waist and dragged her behind her.

All of them ended up in an entangled heap on the floor. Misao was still struggling and flailing about, and yelling about homework, girls sleeping together, and Hiiragi who had betrayed her, and all the other girls had to hold her down.

The rest of the Hiiragi family, sans Tsukasa, were standing at the door in their pajamas and staring at this, faces pale and eyes squinted.

デリミタ デリミタ デリミタ

"Why on earth you had those things in your closet?" Kagami asked her elder sister, Matsuri.

"Oh … I just, kind of … had." Matsuri explained, which of course didn't explain anything. Besides, Matsuri's attention was drawn elsewhere.

They were all sitting in the kitchen of Hiiragi house.. Their parents and Inori had gone back to sleep. Tsukasa, yawning and half-asleep, was serving tea. Misao, now secured into a straitjacket and gagged with a ball gag, both courtesy of Matsuri, was still struggling, groaning, and growling. Ayano was also holding her so that she wouldn't fall off of the chair. "Sorry, Misa-chan, but this is for your own good. You need to calm down a bit."

On the other side of the table, Matsuri was staring at Misao, blushing, and breathing heavier than normal.

"Eww, Matsuri. Don't do that," Kagami groaned.

"W-what? I wasn't doing anything!" Matsuri protested. "Anyway, I'm going back to sleep now. No, no tea for me, thank you. I don't want to brush my teeth again."

Matsuri stood up and got back upstairs.

Ayano took the ball gag off of Misao's mouth. "Have you calmed down at all?" she asked.

"Calm, calm, I'm completely calm! I'm thirsty, can I get some tea? Do you have cookies? Or cake? I'd love a piece of cake!" Misao blabbered.

"Ok, she's calm. Could you help me with this thing?" Ayano asked Kagami.

Kagami stood up and walked around the table, but she looked hesitant. "Are you sure she's calmed down?" she asked, while Misao continued to talk ceaselessly, twitching and heaving herself back and forth.

Ayano watched Kagami's lips to understand what she was saying. "Yeah, that's pretty much her normal state."

Misao stretched and shook her hands as soon as they were free. "My hands got all numb! But I kind of liked it. If I had been tied up longer I think I could have gotten out! Hey, maybe I can learn escape artistry, what do you think, Ayano? Can I lend that jacket so that I can practice – ooh, a bun!" Misao exclaimed, snatched one of the steamed buns, and stuffed it into her mouth. This finally shut her down, for a moment.

"Kusakabe …" Kagami sighed. She waved her hand at Ayano, and when she got her attention again, she asked, "How can you stand having her around all day?"

"We've been together since elementary school. I've completely used to it," Ayano explained.

"And you don't have to listen to her –" Kagami started, but then she gasped, "Sorry! … I didn't mean to, you know…"

But Ayano didn't seem to mind. She only smiled. "Yeah, that's a big advantage."

"Yo, Aya-chan!" Konata exclaimed. "Hey!"

"Konata," Kagami sighed. "She can read lips, but yelling doesn't work."

"Oh, that's right."

Being reminded of Ayano's deafness, Konata made a gesture to indicate that she wanted to speak to Ayano. "Are you two staying the night?"

Ayano nodded.

"Great! Tomorrow we can have fun all day!" Konata exclaimed.

"Not after we've finished studying," Kagami corrected.

"Aww, Kagamin –"

Misao coughed a few crumbs out of her mouth, and practically yelled a question. "You two! I must know, what were you two doing in the same bed! Were you making out! How did it feel? Are you two now a pair?"

The healthy side of Kagami's face turned scarlet red and she made a funny-sounding squawk, while Konata only laughed.

It was Konata who answered the question. "I wish we were, but no, that was just two friends sharing a bed. Nothing more … yet."

Konata winked an eye at Kagami, whose blush got another degree deeper.

"Anyway, the important question is, what kind of fun will we have tomorrow?" Konata asked everyone. "Yuki-chan is coming over too."

Weakly, Tsukasa raised her head from the table and opened one eye slightly. "Amu…sement pa …" she muttered, but she wasn't able to stay awake to even finish her words, and her head fell back onto her crossed arms.

"Amusement park!" Misao screamed. "I love amusement parks! I want to ride all the scaaaariest rides! I want to ride them again and again until I puke! And then I want to ride them again! And cotton candy, I need cotton candy right now! I can't wait! Gimme that!"

Misao snatched the sugar bowl and added about half a cup of sugar into her tea, mixed it with a spoon and took a big sip.

"There's that new place, Magical Land," Konata noted. "We don't even need to switch trains to get there."

"An amusement park," Kagami muttered. "Somehow … that suits Misao."

"Hot! Too hot!" Misao gasped, and spluttered some of the tea onto the table. "So we are sleeping over, I want to sleep with Hiiragi too! Can we all sleep in her bed? Can we sleep together with _our _Hiiragi, can we, Aya-chan?"

"No!" Kagami groaned. "You can sleep in Tsukasa's room. Because she isn't going to wake up until morning. No matter how much you disturb her."

"I don't have any pajamas with me!" Misao announced. "I must sleep in the nude!" she continued, and started taking her clothes off.

Ayano grabbed her hand. "Uh, Misao, wait that we get into the bedroom."

* * *

So I managed to squeeze out another chapter. Some of you wanted to know how Konata lost her legs. So now you know.

Misao … not that much different from the normal Misao…? :P

This would require about 25 chapters to finish properly. I doubt I'm able to write that much, but who knows.


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